Welcome back to the Minor League Roundup!
As a reminder, you can find this roundup — covering everything you need to know about each of the Brewers’ minor league affiliates — every Tuesday morning right here on Brew Crew Ball. For consistency, all organizational prospect rankings will reference MLB Pipeline unless otherwise noted.
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Triple-A Nashville Sounds (30-20)
Opponent this week: Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays)
Record this week: 4-1
Standout performances:
Luis Lara (No. 5): 7-for-18, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K
Luis Matos: 5-for-13, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Akil Baddoo: 4-for-16, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K
Tyson Hardin (No. 17): 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Thomas Pannone: 8 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 8 K
Coleman Crow (No. 25): 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Tyson Hardin, who was promoted to Triple-A Nashville last Sunday, had another great start in his second appearance with Biloxi. Hardin has now pitched 12 2/3 innings with the Shuckers, allowing just two earned runs and 13 strikeouts while walking six. If you want to nitpick, he’s given out too many walks thus far, but he only walked 1.59 batters per nine innings in 21 starts last season. Given the rest of his numbers, it’s hard to ask for anything better from the 24-year-old righty as he adjusts to Triple-A.
Coleman Crow made another start for Nashville, allowing six hits and three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Not a perfect line by any means, but Crow has impressed in his two appearances with Milwaukee. His performance next time he makes a spot start in Milwaukee will say more about his long-term potential than his Triple-A outings.
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Thomas Pannone, who made one appearance for the Brewers back in 2023, pitched eight innings this week. He allowed four runs, so his ERA doesn’t look great, but he didn’t walk a batter while striking out eight.
The Sounds’ lineup this week was led by the Luises. Matos is now slashing .367/.457/.500 since clearing waivers and being outrighted to Nashville. Lara has continued to rake in Triple-A, and at this point, there might be no keeping him down. Brewers manager Pat Murphy has said that Lara won’t be up until there’s regular playing time, but if there’s any room for him in the lineup, he should be the first outfielder called up.
The other consideration with Lara is the “Super Two” deadline, which is quickly approaching. Normally, players need three years of service time before becoming eligible for salary arbitration. However, players who rank in the top 22% of service time among those with between two and three years of service qualify for “Super Two” status, allowing them to become arbitration-eligible a year early. Because of this, the Brewers are somewhat incentivized to keep Lara in Triple-A until they’re confident he won’t qualify.
Cooper Pratt (No. 4) only went 4-for-20, but hit a no-doubt home run. Jett Williams (No. 3) went 5-for-26 and struck out 10 times. Despite the off weeks, both prospects still have OPSes over .900 for the last month. Luis Rengifo currently has the fourth-worst OPS among qualifying batters, while Joey Ortiz would rank fifth if he qualified, so I’d keep an eye on these two (and Eddys Leonard: see video below). Pratt has already signed an extension, so Super Two status isn’t a factor for him. Williams, meanwhile, feels like a strong candidate to arrive shortly after the deadline passes.
Jeferson Quero went 4-for-14 with a pair of RBIs, although none of his four hits went for extra bases. Brock Wilken went 3-for-17 with a double and nine strikeouts. Akil Baddoo, who was activated yesterday from the IL after starting a rehab assignment on May 15, hit two home runs in 16 at-bats.
Next week’s opponent: Gwinnett Stripers (Atlanta Braves)
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Double-A Biloxi Shuckers (23-21)
Opponent this week: Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox)
Record this week: 6-0
Standout performances:
Dylan O’Rae: 11-for-22, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 7 BB, 3 K
Jesús Made (No. 1): 10-for-28, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Blake Burke (No. 16): 7-for-23, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K
Jaron DeBerry: 7 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Manuel Rodriguez: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
After a few relatively lackluster weeks, No. 1 overall prospect Jesús Made produced eye-popping numbers once again with a 13-RBI week. For context, Dylan O’Rae — who leads the Shuckers in hits and batting average — has 13 RBIs all season. Made now leads the entire Southern League in RBIs, with 35, and is slashing .277/.353/.452. Guess who ranks second in the Southern League? Blake Burke, with 33.
Burke has found another level since being promoted to Double-A at the end of last year. He’s tied for the Southern League lead with 12 home runs and has an OPS of .866. He profiles as a 1B/DH in the majors, so with Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers, and Gary Sánchez all healthy, there’s no reason to rush him through the farm system. Still, if he keeps this up, he’ll end up in Nashville sometime soon.
Jaron DeBerry continues to do nothing but rack up strikeouts. He’s now punched out 49 batters in 41 1/3 innings, but the rest of his profile remains uneven. DeBerry owns a 5.66 ERA and 1.45 WHIP, largely because he’s been extremely volatile: four very rough blow-up outings have inflated his numbers, but he’s held opponents to two runs or fewer in his other five appearances. The right-hander could very well become a useful major league pitcher, but he’ll need to find more consistency to do so.
Finally, Manuel Rodriguez had another good outing this week. His ERA is still near 5.00, but he’s only allowed two earned runs in each of his last three outings.
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Next week’s opponent: Columbus Clingstones (Atlanta Braves)
High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (20-16)
Opponent this week: Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Record this week: 3-2
Standout performances:
Josiah Ragsdale: 9-for-20, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K
Andrew Fischer (No. 6): 7-for-19, 1 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 BB, 6 K
Josh Adamczewski (No. 10): 4-for-15, 3 2B, 3 RBI, 8 BB, 4 K
Marco Dinges (No. 9): 4-for-16, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Wande Torres: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Braylon Owens: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
A 2025 seventh-round pick, Josiah Ragsdale spent his first weeks as a member of the Brewers organization in Low-A, but started this season in Wisconsin and has quietly been one of the Timber Rattlers’ best players. After this week’s 9-for-20 showing, Ragsdale is now slashing .292/.423/.442 with three home runs and 17 stolen bases, good for fifth in the Midwest League.
Braylon Payne now ranks second in the Midwest League with 10 home runs, behind only Andrew Fischer. As a reminder, Payne hit eight home runs in nearly 300 at-bats last season in Single-A. His batting average is up 20 points, to .260, while his OPS (.569) is also up in a major way (nearly 200 points). These are clear signs of development, which is exactly what you want to see from a 19-year-old prospect who has all of the athletic tools to succeed at the big-league level someday.
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With Fischer, Payne, Josh Adamczewski, and Luis Peña on the roster, some of the Timber Rattlers’ other players have flown a bit under the radar. One of those guys is catcher Marco Dinges. Even after a breakout 2025 season, Dinges — the Brewers’ No. 9 prospect — doesn’t get quite as much coverage as some of the other prospects on the roster.
This may be because, unlike Fischer, Adamczewski, Peña, and even Ragsdale, he rarely puts together huge statistical weeks. However, Dinges has been remarkably consistent all season, putting together a .261/.397/.468 slash line with six home runs.
Speaking of Peña, he started his rehab assignment in rookie ball over the weekend. In five at-bats over two games, he’s recorded a single, double, and RBI.
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Pitchers Wande Torres and Braylon Owens, both of whom have made multiple appearances in this column, had the two best outings among Wisconsin pitchers. Ethan Dorchies (No. 18) has had a rough start to his season, but bounced back this week, pitching three innings and allowing two hits and a lone earned run.
Next week’s opponent: Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis Cardinals)
Single-A Wilson Warbirds (23-21)
Opponent this week: Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles)
Record this week: 4-2
Standout performances:
Brady Ebel (No. 13): 9-for-22, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K
Juan Ortuno: 6-for-19, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 3 K
Pedro Ibarguen: 4-for-13, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 5 BB, 3 K
Jarrette Bonet: 6 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Carlos Carra: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
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Brady Ebel, a 2025 first-round compensatory pick, has now had 16 hits over his last two weeks, including nine this week. Ebel had a scholarship offer from LSU, but instead chose to sign with Milwaukee. The 18-year-old shortstop got off to a bit of a slow start, but after a strong two-week stretch, his slash line is up to .242/.388/.362 — a mark that looks even more impressive when you remember he could still be in his first college season.
In last week’s column, I mentioned Pedro Ibarguen had been hitting .353/.433/.510 over the last month in his first full season in Single-A. He didn’t slow down much this week, adding a pair of doubles and walking more than he struck out. Juan Ortuno has also been steadily producing for the Warbirds, and this week wasn’t an exception.
Jarrette Bonet, who was named the Brewers organization’s Pitcher of the Month back in April, had allowed at least four earned runs in each of his three starts in May. He bounced back in a big way with his best start of the year, going 6 1/3 one-hit innings while striking out six and walking one. Carlos Carra (6.63 ERA) also had a quality start.
Next week’s opponent: Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Chicago Cubs)
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Player of the Week
My heart wanted to give this week’s award to Ragsdale, but Andrew Fischer just continues to produce. By “produce,” I mean on the stat sheet, but he also produces more than his fair share of highlights.
Fischer had more hits than strikeouts this week and added three more home runs — the most in the Brewers’ organization — to bring him to a Midwest League-leading 13 for the year. The strikeouts are concerning, and will be until he manages to string together a few weeks with lower whiff totals, but at some point, you have to trust that the guy with a .266 batting average and 1.012 OPS in his first professional season can figure it out eventually.
Play of the Week
Blake Burke is a better defender than he gets credit for, but I didn’t know he had this in his bag.
Since you’re still reading, here’s a Tyler Black outfield highlight as a thank you:
Read the full article here